Bach, Vivaldi and Handel headline the MSO’s Baroque Festival, opening with a showcase of concertos directed from the harpsichord by Erin Helyard and featuring violinist Tair Khisambeev. Soprano Samantha Clarke then joins Helyard for an evening of arias including Handel’s Lascia ch’io pianga, originally written for Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno and reused in Rinaldo. The festival concludes with a 300th-anniversary performance of Bach’s St John Passion under Stephen Layton, former Music Director at Trinity College Cambridge and founder of Polyphony.

Limelight Editor’s Choice

Australia’s own baroque star Erin Helyard kicks off MSO’s Festival from the harpsichord, showcasing the incredible variation of three of the era’s most famous contemporaries.

A violinist by training, Antonio Vivaldi wrote over 500 concertos – works for solo instrument and chamber orchestra. Nearly half of these were written for his beloved violin, and his intimate knowledge of the instrument allowed him to push the boundaries of virtuosic possibility.

Often lauded as the greatest composer of all time, Bach’s famous Brandenburg Concertos were written for a potential patron, whom Bach hoped would give him a job. Taking inspiration from the concertos of Vivaldi, this set highlights the facility of several instruments, instead of just one.

Telemann’s Overture Suite was dedicated to a hunting enthusiast, and it’s easy to hear why. This selection of musical scenes feels like a day in the countryside with no shortage of thrills, spills, and unexpected encounters.